Gevi Countertop Ice Maker Machine - 9 Ice Cubes in 6-8 Minutes, 26Lbs Daily Output, Self-Cleaning Portable Ice Maker for Home, Kitchen, RV, Camping, Bar & Office - Compact Mini Ice Machine (Green)

I'd hate to wax poetic but I like it. It works. I've had this ice machine for over a month and I've used it just about every day. I'll do a pro and con list.Pros1. Easy to set up plug it in let it run for like 2 hours run a water cycle2. easy to use its got 2 modes of ice when it's off you can change the size of the ice bullets3. fairly easy to clean its a button and takes maybe 10 mins to run a cycle I normally run 24. makes a nice amount of ice for a single person. I love ice and put it an almost every drink I live alone and I don't have any complaints about the amount that's made5. ice making is steady.Cons1. the ice is not held cold like ice in a refrigerator freezer (the chamber is not a cooler) so it pretty much melts the instant its dropped or when it's put in a drink.2. it can be kind of loud the wiring noise can have me questioning the motor3. I kind of wish it came apart more for through cleaning4. It takes 10 minutes to make ice so I have to wait 20 mins to have partially melted iceSo my review, I work its expected with what I spent I would definitely prefer a fridge with ice maker but my small apartment didn't come with one.This is in our small summer house with a small refrigerator w/o an ice maker. I hate making ice cubes. W/this I make enough to fill up the bin in our freezer and I’m done for a week! It is compact and fits nicely in the nook right next to the fridge. I always use filtered water and clean it out and unplug after using. I’ve had no problems with it. Before buying I read a wire cutter review that said that although they cannot prove it there is evidence that all of these compact ice makers are made by the same Chinese manufacturer. I chose this brand because I liked the dark blue. I am happy with it.I am one of those hardcore people who must have my coffee, sodas, milk, & juice extremely cold! I use a huge amount of ice everytime I drink something... it's not uncommon for me to finish a 10Lb bag in 3 days.I use that much all year! Plus, it's tough to get ice when this region (PNW) is AGAIN being fried to death again because of yet another high heat dome over us! Ice is sold out everywhere. So, I researched portable ice machines in my Amazon Prime app!I was thrilled that there are a lot of choices. So I purchased one that's highly rated & discounted 50% off! I was so thrilled that it'd be here in 3 dayz...I'm pretty bummed about my portable ice maker. I've NOT BEEN ??? able to use it yet! All due to yet another "high pressure dome" that's been extremely HOT! ONLY 44% of the population in Western Washington have AC. Basically,I don't have AC either. The current high is producing record heat! Temps are from 100°F~90° daily. This ice maker doesn't work much when it was in 80's to 95+ a day. My apartment was around 85~91° daily. Much tooooo hot.I'm looking forward to being able to actually use it later this week!Pros:• Gorgeous in blue• Compact• Very Quiet• Extremely well packed• Extremely well made as to construction fit and finish• Makes cute bullet shape cubes w/deep center holes• Might be useful for small homeschooling family who neither camps or picnicsCons:• Does not make ice in 6 mins - takes 9 - 12mins• Speed based on ambient room & machine temp• Ice is soft, super melty, nowhere near hard like fridge/freezer ice maker ice or store bought ice• Semi-useless for heavy ice users lacking a freezer• First 9 cubes will melt before 2nd 9 cubes drop• When basket registers “full” it’s not full (Pic 2)• …Auto scoop device drops ice too soon so that…• …Ice piles on far side of basket catching on square openings causing ice basket to register full (Pic 3)• ….Machine then shuts off prematurely leaving …• … ice basket not nearly full w/ice melting fast!• Ice for drinks melts incredibly fast even in insulated cooler tumblers! Super frustrating.• Impossible to use for ice coolers of any size unless one first freezes repetitive ice machine batches in a home freezer until sufficient freezer hard ice is gathered to fill an ice cooler. Even then the ice would not last as long as fridge/freezer or store bought ice because bullet ice contain deep empty recesses instead of being solid bullet shaped ice cubes.In several days of experimenting, by the time a 2nd, 3rd ——22nd basket of ice is dropped into the insulated ice cooler all earlier ice has melted.• Suspect ice would be more deeply frozen if heat exhausted from rear rather than right side• Suspect icemaker would produce harder ice if it was heavier insulatedBOTTOM LINE: With regret this Gevi icemaker is far from fit for our particular household needs and will be returned. We need slow melting, hard ice and in larger quantities. We have no desire to buy more freezer space to store soft ice sufficient to entertain a crowd or fill camp coolers for camp outs, picnics, fishing trips etc.Love this thing! Don't know why it took so long to finally get one. It works great! My only complaint is I wish it held more ice. But that's not a reason to not purchase. It works great!I ordered this ice maker that was sitting in my cart when a lightening deal popped up for $99. It arrived 1-day ago and I followed the quick setup instructions.1. Setup on a flat surface for 2-hours without plugging in,2. Plug machine in and run 2 cycles of self-cleaning,3. Pour out water and fill to max line to make ice!I made small ice at 11pm EST and at 11:07pm EST I had enough for a small glass. I left it overnight and woke up to a full basket of ice.I packed it in my 32 ounce Yeti cup to take with my to chemotherapy, and it is still in ice form despite the heat and humidity.I like to chew ice chips, and it is not hard on my feet at all. It is bullet ice with a crushed ice chew!This ice machine works great. We can now go camping without buying several bags of ice saving us a lot of money and time.